Spooky sterling: Pound spikes against the dollar
The pound has jumped 0.2 per cent up against the US dollar as October trading revealed sterling's worst monthly performance since the June referendum.
The pound leaped up by half a cent against the dollar to $1.2217 at around 16.00 GMT today, though the reason isn't certain. It's also up half a per cent against the euro, to €1.114. This was after a slide in its value earlier today to around $1.215.
Speculated reasons for the boost includes comments from Theresa May about Bank of England governor Mark Carney. Her spokesperson told reporters earlier he was "absolutely" the best man for the job and now looks likely to stay in post past 2018.
The prime minister met with Carney this afternoon, and he emerged from Downing Street at around 15.00 after around an hour and forty minute meeting.
Read more: Eurozone GDP rose 0.3 per cent in the third quarter
The PM's spokesperson said that May would be "very supportive" of Carney staying longer.
However, others have put down the rise to a standard 4pm "fix" by foreign exchange market traders, when the pound is officially recorded each day.
Statistics released earlier today show that the pound is the world's worst performing currency this month, trailing behind 150 others after the UK's vote to leave the EU takes its toll. Sterling has declined by around six per cent this month alone, the second largest drop after June, when it plunged around eight per cent.
However, statistics out last week showed that Britain’s economy grew 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, another indication that the UK appears to have escaped significant economic damage in the period subsequent to the Brexit vote.